The Museum of Bad Gifts Is a Celebration of Outlandish Objects, From Ceramic Clowns to Cat Nail ClippingsPresented like pieces of fine art, the peculiar presents are mounted on the walls of a gallery in Toronto. Many of them will ultimately be sold at auction The weeklong exhibition showcases items submitted by members of the public. Martin ReisAn eclectic collection of items akin to the Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is on display at a small gallery in Canada. But unlike the 1964 television specials downtrodden playthings, which eager girls and boys eventually welcome on Christmas morning, these items are gifts that have already been givenand rejected.At The Museum of Bad Gifts, a weeklong installation at Torontos Northern Contemporary Gallery, doomed presents are mounted on the wall like pieces of fine art for visitors to puzzle over. Highlights include a framed fragment of cat food packaging, a stolen hotel bathrobe, a gingerbread man made of astroturf, a carafe made from a cows hoof, a Muppet Calendar CD-ROM and a drinking glass adorned with the words wine is win with an e on the end!Bad gifts are a universal experience, Shari Kasman, one of the exhibitions curators, tells the Toronto Stars Abby OBrien. Everywhere around the world, people are receiving bad gifts, whether given out of obligation or misjudgment.Kasman and her co-curatorsartists Stephanie Avery, Martin Reis and Sean Martindalesettled on the idea while brainstorming ways to use the gallery space during the period between Christmas and New Years, when loved ones the world over are grappling with gifts they dont want. Items on display include a "Muppet Calendar" CD-ROM and a framed piece of cat food packaging. Shari KasmanAhead of the show, the gallery put out a call for submissions, explaining that the definition of a bad gift is completely subjective and that all bad gifts should be celebrated equally. As Kasman tells CBC News Michael Smee, One persons bad gift is another persons gem.Kasman says that organizing the show came with unique challenges, and participants had their own moral quandaries to contend with: What if a gift-giver has since died? What if theyre alive and they see their item in the gallery? But the show is billed as a salute to bad gifts, rather than a condemnation of them.Be it given out of obligation, wild misjudgments in character or pure apathy, bad gifts hold a special place in our hearts and in our homes, writes the gallery on the exhibition website. We feel compelled to keep these gifts, even though we dont want, like or need them. The Museum of Bad Gifts will put bad gifts in center stage as we celebrate their glorious awkwardness, the chaos of holiday consumption and the rituals of giving/receiving. The exhibition features a book called Solo Chef and a tube of pepper spray, among other items. Shari KasmanThe items are displayed alongside wall text descriptions written by the recipients, so museumgoers can understand the context in which each transaction occurred. One participant accidentally spritzed pepper spray in her face after receiving it as a gift from her mother; the offending tube is in a Ziploc bag on the wall. Another explained that my bestie in England and I like to send each other quirky gifts, [but] this bag of what I think are cat nails was perhaps a little too quirky for me. One woman wrote that she received a cookbook called Solo Chef written for widows and recently divorced dads on her 29th birthday.It had come from a [discount] bin, Kasman tells the Toronto Star. It contains such recipes as Meatloaf for One.Some of the gifts on display are inoffensive, like a preppy cheetah print phone purse given to someone who doesnt really care for typical girly things. Context appears to matter a lot with such items, which are often appreciated when exchanged between acquaintances. But what about when they come from close friends or relatives?Eva Stachniak, who visited the show, is a local writer who loves literature, but shes been given generic texts that come with an air of, Oh, any book will do, as she tells Toronto Todays Gabe Oatley. Its the sadness that comes from the fact that someone you thought knew you really has no idea who you are. Museumsgoers are encouraged to draw and describe the worst gifts they've received. Shari KasmanBut the bad gifts themselves are only one section of the show. At the wall of bad gift drawings, visitors are instructed to draw and describe the worst items theyve received, including a ceramic clown and the doll I dont like. They can also add their own bad gifts to a collaborative bad gift sculpture or reimagine them using ribbons, tape and other crafts supplies.There are bad gifts that are so bad theyre good, says sculptor Andy Fischer. Those are the ones I enjoy the most. As CBC News reports, Fischer reimagined a Cabbage Patch doll gifted by a friend who constructed it out of freakish found parts.Admission is free, but like a traditional gallery show, some of the itemsincluding the bag of cat nailsare up for auction, according to Global News Lexy Benedict. Proceeds will go to the Toronto-based Daily Bread Food Bank.The Museum of Bad Gifts is on view at the Northern Contemporary Gallery in Toronto through January 5, 2025.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Art, Arts, Canada, Christmas, Dolls, Exhibitions, Exhibits, Family, Museums, Museums of the Weird, Pop culture, Toys